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Crawley, Bernardians edge Fitchburg

By Sean Sweeney, Correspondent

Updated:
05/06/2013 06:31:27 AM EDT

FITCHBURG -- As it turns out, John Crawley can fling the horsehide, too.

The St. Joseph's-bound senior threw four innings of one-hit, scoreless relief Sunday afternoon, and he also took the victory as St. Bernard's nipped pesky inter-city rival Fitchburg, 6-4, at Holman Field.

Crawley, a member of the two-time Central Mass. Division 2 champion boys' basketball team, only came out for the team a week ago, following a two-year absence from the baseball program. Hoops is his preferred sport and there has always been the question of which division he'd play in college.

Once he decided on Division 3, he took the chance to join several of his classmates on the diamond by pitching batting practice.

"Days like today pays off with practice," Crawley said.

Wearing No. 8 instead of his usual No. 12 for basketball, Crawley entered a 4-4 game in the fourth as St. Bernard's (6-8) starter Sean Maki didn't have his best stuff against the Red Raiders (0-11). In Maki's defense, there were a few miscues on the defensive side of the ball for St. B's, which allowed Fitchburg to take advantage, including a trifecta of errors by the young Bernardian shortstop who has taken over as Brian Gelinas battles an injury. Two errors in the top of the third allowed FHS to take a brief 4-3 lead.

But once longtime St. B's skipper Jim Beauregard made a defensive switch -- moving Maki from the bump to short and calling on the untested right-hander in Crawley -- to start the fourth, it made all the difference to bring the 'W' to Harvard Street.

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In four innings, he threw 65 pitches as he struck out six, walked one and tossed two wild pitches -- but neither ended up hurting as the runners never moved past second base.

"He knows his role," Beauregard said of Crawley. "He throws strikes. If you throw strikes, you're going to be OK. He was definitely the difference."

"He threw the ball well," Fitchburg first-year skipper John Costello said afterward. "I couldn't tell you that he hadn't played in a couple of years."

After Crawley set the side down in order in the fourth, St. Bernard's plated two runs with two out to take command.

Bryan Franciosi walked on four pitches before he stole second base. Mike Balducci singled him in with a bloop into no-man's land behind short, before a throwing error off the bat of Austin Wood moved him to second.

Despite the loss, Fitchburg showed grit and determination, something truly not seen on Arn-How Road in this sport in some time. The Red and Gray scored three runs in the top of the first, bringing their 'A' Game to Tar Hill for this bright and sunny matinee.

Dmitri Brasili led off with a second-pitch double to right before Maki plunked Joel Luna to put two runners on. Joe George's pop-up bunt fell just out of the reach of Maki's dive near the first base line, loading the bases full of Red Raiders.

Maki then walked Darius Flowers on a full count to make it 1-0 FHS.

A throwing error by the shortstop off Diosmar Reynoso's bat as he tried to set up a 6-4-3 double play allowed Luna to score, before George scored on a 6-4-3 double play two pitches later.

The Bernardians plated one in the home half of the first, as Maki, who walked, scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Comaskey, as Flowers erased Franciosi with a flip to third for the force. An inning later, St. Bernard's tied the game at 3-up, as Nick Martines scored on Maki's base hit, before Maki, who went to second on the throw to the infield, scored on a two-base throwing error by the third baseman trying to throw him out at second.

George gave FHS a 4-3 lead as he had reached on a one-out fielding error compounded two hitters later with a throwing error.

Maki struck out one, gave up three hits and walked one on 50 pitches in three innings of work.

Flowers struck out six Bernardians as he tossed 91 pitches in six innings, giving up seven hits and walking four.

"Darius pitched a great game," Costello said. "A couple of mistakes, and that's the game. He was mixing it up, and I call the game from the side. He did well, and my catcher (Reynoso), is a warrior. But we showed life today, and we want to show life every game. We hung tough, and we didn't fold the tents."

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